The Safe Zone - Reckoning (Book 2)

Chapter 4: A Fragile Alliance

Lena:

I wasn't sure what I expected when Zara led us into the underground camp, but it wasn't this.

The entrance had been hidden well, just a narrow gap between two collapsed buildings, barely wide enough for us to slip through one by one. As soon as we descended into the tunnels, the world changed. The air was more relaxed, damp with the lingering scent of mold and decay. The tunnels stretched like veins beneath the earth, twisting and turning until I lost all sense of direction. The faint glow of dimly lit lanterns flickered along the cracked walls, barely enough to guide our way.

Zara walked ahead, her steps sure and steady, as if she had made this journey a hundred times before. The rest of us followed silently, our footsteps echoing off the concrete floor. Now and then, I caught Ethan's eyes scanning the darkness, always alert, always on edge. I felt the same unease gnawing at me, the tension tightening my muscles with every step deeper we took.

The tunnels seemed endless, stretching further than I thought possible. I had no idea how far underground we were, but it felt like we were sinking into a different world, a forgotten place where the surface was just a distant memory.

Finally, Zara led us into a larger chamber, its walls lined with makeshift tents and supplies stacked in piles—the heart of the camp. A group gathered around a central fire, their faces illuminated by its orange glow. Most looked like they hadn't seen daylight in months—gaunt, tired, worn down by the world above. But their eyes were sharp, watching us with curiosity and suspicion.

"We're here," Zara said, breaking the silence. Her voice echoed through the chamber, and I felt every pair of eyes shift toward us.

I swallowed hard, glancing at Ethan beside me. His expression was unreadable, but I could feel the tension radiating off him. We had come here for help, for allies, but this—this was something else entirely. These people didn't look like a resistance. They looked like survivors. And out here, survival meant trusting no one.

A tall and broad-shouldered man stepped forward from the group, his face cast in shadow by the flickering firelight. His weathered skin was lined with deep scars, and his eyes were hard, like someone who had seen too much of the world and lived to tell the tale. He didn't speak immediately; he just studied us with a quiet intensity that made my skin prickle.

"You brought strangers," the man said, his voice low and gravelly. He wasn't talking to us—he was talking to Zara, his gaze never leaving ours.

"They're not strangers to the fight," Zara replied calmly, though I could hear the edge in her voice. "They know about the Directive. They escaped the Safe Zone."

The man's eyes narrowed. "Escaped? Or were sent?"

His words hit me like a punch to the gut. It was the question I'd dreaded—it hung over us like a storm cloud ever since we left. Were we fugitives? Or bait? Nora had her ways of controlling people and manipulating them into thinking they had escaped when they were still on her leash.

"We weren't sent," I said, stepping forward, my voice steady despite the knot of fear tightening in my chest. "We barely made it out alive. If we stayed, we would have been killed—or worse."

The man didn't react, didn't even blink. He just stared at me, his silence suffocating.

I glanced at Ethan, hoping he would back me up, but his gaze was fixed on the man, his face like stone. He was weighing the situation, calculating. I knew that look. He wouldn't speak until he was sure it wouldn't worsen things.

"Look," I continued, forcing the words out. "We didn't come here to cause trouble. We came here because we need allies. The Safe Zones are controlled by people who don't care about survival. They only care about control. The Directive isn't about saving people. It's about choosing who lives and who doesn't."